"It is a fact that there is a crisis and the government will have to overcome it," said Saseendran, while interacting with a group of invited guests with expertise in the transport sector.TNN | July 02, 2016, 08:18 IST

THIRUVANTHAPURAM: Every minister who helms the portfolio of transport is quick to take up the challenge of making KSRTC a profit-making body. But the LDF government is of the view that bus fare hike should not be the means to turn KSRTC into a profit-making body, said transport minister A K Saseendran.

"For the KSRTC, the average revenue per day is Rs 5.25 crore and the expense is Rs 7 crore. We are looking at increasing the revenue by improving efficiency. Hence, the government would be exploring various ways to improve the efficiency," said the minister while participating in the 'Minister on a Mission' programme organised by the TOI. In the coming days the government would start talking to employees for improving the efficiency, he said.

"It is a fact that there is a crisis and the government will have to overcome it," said Saseendran, while interacting with a group of invited guests with expertise in the transport sector.

"There needs a practical approach. A total revamp one fine morning is not possible. We need to do some new experiments for which we need the support of employees. The employees are also fully aware that they have to perform for the survival of KSRTC and hence it is easy to introduce new schemes," he said.

The transport department is always caught in the news for wrong reasons, Saseendran said. "The first priority is to guide the department out of such controversies. The next priority is to modernise all KSRTC bus stands. The main focus would be to make them more hygienic and people-friendly by providing more amenities," he said.

On road safety, the minister said he was not in favour of putting the entire blame on drivers. "When it comes to accidents the drivers alone are not villains. To bring down road accidents we need to have good roads," he said.

On the demand by private bus operators to increase the bus fare, the minister said fare hike alone should not be the criteria to make profit. There are numerous other ways to make bus service profitable, like conversion to CNG. "Even though the initial investment is high, the recurring expenses would be less," he said.